Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Mommy guilt

I could never have guessed when I first became a mother that all of the joy would come hand in hand with an awful lot of guilt. It is amazing to me how quickly I can go from feeling proud of my accomplishments as a parent and joy in my son's development to feeling terrible that I have not lived up to my own ideal of a "good" mom.

A good mom always comforts her child the minute he squeaks in his crib. A good mom rocks her child to sleep every night no matter how long it takes. A good mom nurses her child until well past their first birthday. A good mom doesn't feed her child processed baby food or pasta bites. She makes her baby home made purees and organic snacks. A good mom doesn't become irritated or short-tempered when her child fusses on and off all afternoon because she understands that he is little and just trying to communicate. A good mom keeps her cool when her son continues to disregard her repeated admonishments for flinging food from his tray. A good mom doesn't leave her crying child with other caregivers. A good mom makes sure her child gets both of his naps in his room in the crib, never in the car or stroller. A good mom always puts the computer or book down to play with her child when he needs her attention. A good mom uses her child's nap times to do productive things like cleaning her house or weeding her yard rather than catching up on her Tivo and blogging. A good mom always responds to her child's needs with patience, meets each day with joy and excitement (no matter how tired she is), and parents her children with confidence instead of Google.

I can't imagine why I always feel like I fall short...

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